Page 160 of The Edge of Dawn

She’d always had a knack for mediating. Maybe she was a bit too much of a people-pleaser, and she’d only been too eager to put that instinct to work for her clients.

But she’d also learned to be a bulldog on their behalf, sometimes to the point where she feared retaliation from the other party.

She’d seen the best and worst of people, even in her own husband, who was now very much her ex in all but name.

As for her father…

Even though he meant well, she’d even been burned by his rigidness and his blind trust in the authorities—it wasn’t the first time.

How quickly people could change.

She should have been cynical and jaded by now. Most lawyers she knew turned out that way sooner or later. Some even became paranoid.

But idealistic as it was, she’d always believed in justice, in karma.

That the Universe would eventually right itself.

And maybe the reason she’d found it so easy to trust Dragek was because she’d seen hundreds of bad apples, and he so obviously wasn’t one of them.

He could be so very dangerous, but deep down inside, in his secret heart of hearts, he was pure.

It feels like a fever dream, she mused, more to herself than to Noa, even though she projected the words as mindspeech. In human terms, getting to this point usually takes months, if not years.

When you find your Kordolian mate, it can feel like everything’s moving at the speed of light. It’s just how they are. Once he gets hit by the Mating Fever, it’s game over. But you already know, right?

Yes. I know exactly who he is.

And she knew that in this life, there could be nobody else.

This whole ordeal… he’s really suffered, and he’s done so willingly. He chose what was right over what was selfish. It must’ve taken great self-control to hold back for so long. I have to admit… Noa’s voice wavered, her tone becoming uncertain. When he came back from the mission, the first thing he did was seek you out. He wanted to be with you above all else. But you were at a precarious point. The massive drain on your ka’qui meant that if you didn’t get a deep, uninterrupted rest, it would have taken a very long time for you to recover your ability. Fortunately, you got a good rest.

How long was I out?

About three days, give or take.

Three days? Holy crap. She, who had always had trouble sleeping, couldn’t fathom that she’d just had such a deep and dreamless sleep. What… what happened? What about Dragek?

She felt the Mating Fever burning up inside her. His must be a hundred times more severe.

He was exhausted. Barely able to keep it together, and for someone as disciplined as him, that’s saying something. His aura was so volatile I was worried he might unravel if he didn’t get some sort of relief from the pressure of the Mating Fever. But he understood exactly what he needed at that point in time. He actually requested that he be sedated so he wouldn’t do anything to you that he might regret later.

He… did? Jade couldn’t even imagine what kind of agony Dragek had endured as she’d slept. She almost felt guilty that she hadn’t been there to meet him.

For someone who’s been with us for such a short time, he’s impressively self-aware.

Is he all right? How long is he going to be knocked out? Should I come back later or…? Suddenly, Jade was unsure of herself. With this long, drawn-out build-up, she was nervous about meeting him again.

She didn’t quite know why.

It was a good nervous, though. A giddy, euphoric kind of nervous.

The anticipation was almost too much to bear.

Go on. You’ll find him in his chambers, probably still asleep.

It’s… okay if I go in?

I very much doubt he would object, and I’m certainly not going to do anything to discourage you. Actually, he’d probably kill me if I try to cock-block him any more than I already have.

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